9-Year-Old Moves NGT Over Centre’s ‘Inaction’ on Climate Change

A nine-year-old child has moved the National Green Tribunal (NGT), alleging inaction by the Centre to mitigate the adverse impact of climate change. NGT has sought reply from the Environment Ministry.

A bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar issued notices to the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) and Central Pollution Control Board asking them to respond in two weeks.

The tribunal was hearing a plea filed by Uttarakhand resident Ridhima Pandey through her legal guardian, seeking directions to all appraisal bodies to assess the climate related issues while granting environmental clearance.

The petition said that children are more vulnerable than adults to pollution from the burning of fossil fuels that causes global climate change, and referred to issues like rise in sea level, destruction of mangroves, melting of glaciers and snow packs and reduction in freshwater supply.

Alleging that there was a huge gap in implementation of the environmental legislations in the country, it said that climate change has become a worldwide concern in recent years, caused by anthropogenic activities such as the burning of fossil fuels.